Vehicle safety door construction



Oct. 12, 1943. E; H. MbsHER 2,331,340

VEHICLE SAFETY DOQR- CONSTRUCTION Filed March 9, 1940 Patented Oct. 12, 1943 emi'r en. mes Y 1 vehicles.semrxpooecpisrsmnercmmr i Ellswerth :Ht Mosheri M'erion, Rae... An iea eonmaxehgs, 194i0.,.serie1.m. ma ze,- j

'eemimse.

ing'. of j the finger; or: fin em. which: may in: same instancesrequiream utation: of a.-.pQrtior.i; here1-.- ob

It isan; obi ect .ofzmyt inventioneaccordin ly';IO: modify: a; vehicle; deer; censtruction; in. 811G112 a: manner that the unfortunate consequences: of; accidents:.of:.the.1typetamen ionedawill bepsubstan tially:01::entirelyr-eliminateih.

ltisieifurthenohieet ofsthe invention teatime vide; ah nc .c1.-i;fie.d v vehicular: doom: eonst-reictiom which. will; at the:- same: time:- beqreletivelyeinexe nensivelto manufectuiezandeappiye-animeoitanta omm nciah considenatien, particularly with; ree heet. to; its. use: in: vehielesz. in the; lower pricez fields...

It isreestilhfurtherrcbjectnf:thecinventiemtm prcyide; such; a: constmctien whichlmeyvreedizlm be: made;.-t.o. harmonize completely-r withithe ap:.-= m n sa 0ia y hic1 0w v n-luxurious: they might. be.

The manner ina which these: andzotheggqbjeots oi the. invention-are-achieved willheeemeiepnar entto those skilled, in thevart upon. becpming; familiar with the descr-ipgtiomwhichfollows: v

. My. invention broad1y--;speaking; cemprises; the beve-1ling@ orreeessing; of: the 'inneri edge otithe door frame of the. vehic1e,- orthe'inherq edgefqfr; the door. itse-1f, orgtheiinner edge of both these; elements; The, spaceon cavity thus proyigled at! the? juncture.- between. the: Vehicle; bedy. anchthe: vehicle door preferably substantially filleds with; a v relatively soft. yielding materiaL-ir such-am n ner. asto. permit. thefinger er fingers of. an ceme t pentcf the. vehicle. to. be readily accommedetei. with spacetespare. Inthis manner insteedtof being. mashed. or crushed assometimes happens with. present. door. ccnstruetiom, the fingers.

caught by therslamming doorraregmerely; pinched;

moreor. less. gently, degending upohthe r atu te 5.5.. iaLiiLhei g.nee'essery.qn wte'te e care.that the andmtmnem nt t the ack ng meteriaL-mrm? ne pert qtmy prefwed onst uetions My inyent-ion beinethus; d scribecl nie nerelie ms preferred; emb diments heteQE-S m y; be.

. mererig rticularlyi. desc i ed. in! anneetion with.

th raccompei yine drawin e. htwhichg Eigmcee 1-. is. a nartiel herizontal tress;sectiena thro h ainertien otary hi lejdeer meets i teeadoon-frem shewirigntheinyemion: applied. he et a. i

Eie ir s-2 ,-.,3.-end ,are'rsimi lee viewspshowin b g ed fled lrran ements aecox iegi e,- h ielyen:

Fi re 5 1' s c View? showin how uch a, 001

. structienrprevexitst ninm or nestfineet.wheni 18. 13 3:d Q1'" iwWh c-h? \i- $a her-tisined tteuum lammem hereeng: I I Figure; is. a, pert alt seeti(mall V ewv showing, furthen det ils 0. onst uction;

fi ure-L andfivare mews similaan. to. Eieuxes" .2;

end-3;. respectiyehi,.buttshowing further" sli ht.

changesym, 0ustr1 c i m-;-.,. nd.r

.Eighres .-azisl, il'are s ctienal' ewseficushien: me -strips the/t mi ht-be, mpieyedn hhthe dean nstruction ac erdinete theimezi en,

As! shewnrin E e-hre 1i cetjdeerv fli'isvmeunteell n) the: usueltcoeperatiyemelatibn. z withieer edy.

LLbwmeans suchessxteriorlihin e 2;.as.i.s;. ne

ventionel. practice-in. ahtbmohil ehoxly, onstrue.- tien. .mhe deeeanqhedmmayheoiewoeclm e eiii mth'tsh etmetelv ltlass qwn. diaepammetiqallxh Alternatively t se elementssmeytheeeijthesp: called all-metal?! 'constrh tiqn... theit. desired c0nst1 uc.tion.. may, f. ouzse. he; mnloyed The. innenedgesefican deer. 03 111417 1 erboilx. l |..-e.r.e. beve1.led drnrecesses s hdice clge erale met IA and. ii'resnectivelx. Thetsheeegthuslefti between doervandv pdypxeierebly issuhstantiailsc. filled by, ester or..strips .qtseft;.xieidineen Zmi resilient-material. i.!5;.whi;c ..stri s .h eierahl e e t nd-.a10ne he eht re eneth. of the dem nd/J frame-and j pertic iae x; hei"I1Qr iQ h i pf which. hem. been" feuhdlhy ex er ence as; ost" likely to involve the fingers of en bccuga ntfingnr accident. Theinsext str Pr erably: coniohnsr substantially in. shape, end/Or; size; with the; ,r cessed. Or hellbwedont' space; between the car; deohansL dic, 1

I As. shcwninjigpre ;2; the constructio1; js'-g en-- mlly. simi artethetzoi "Fi ineltb t'ith ell nea or. reeess ng is: emeh sized? to. .a. g n'. de r e;

extenein siibstantialiy t'o'the exterior edge; cf the. oer. deer. ame er. mm. he xa t deggee of? recessingginj. any. 'givehfcese is. oi course; immete,

space thereby left between the car door and car body is ample to safeguard the occupants fingers, if caught therebetween.

Figures 3 and 4 are generally similar to Figure 2, each showing a modification in which only the car body or the car door (respectively) is recessed or bevelled in accordance with my invention. Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4 graphi'cally illustrating how my novel construction is adapted to protect the fingers of an occupant of the vehicle from severe injury in case said fingers are caught by a slammed door.

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Figure 3 illustrating one detailed method of applying my invention to vehicle doors. The soft yielding material in strip form may advantageously be formed of porous,

rubber-like material (e. g., sponge rubber). It

may be held in assembled position on the door and/or frame by the aid'of a suitable bonding agent (e. g., rubber cement). be covered and/or held in place by a covering strip of fabric or other suitable material fastened to the metal and/or woodwork by screws, tacks, upholstery nails or the like elements 2!, or by adhesive material, or otherwise. Besides serving to keep the yielding or resilient strip I5 firmly fastened in place, the covering material or holding strip 20 may be readily made to harmonize with any color scheme or the like which it may be desired to carry out with respect to the appointments (including the upholstery) of the vehicle. Complete artistic harmony with the colors and/or types of materials employed for the said appointments is thus assured.

Figures 7 and 8 are generally similar to Figures 2 and 3, respectively, differing therefrom only in that the protecting strips with the cooperating recesses into which they fit are substantially rectangular in cross-section instead of triangular. In certain cases such shape may be the preferred form, from the pointof view of ease and/ or economy in manufacture. With these modifications, as in any of the others, the degree of recessing (and consequently the size of the protecting strip) is not critical so long as it is in excess of the minimum required to safeguard the occupants fingers, in accordance with the objects of the invention. A minimum space of for instance about /1," should be ample to safeguard the average persons fingers. In other words, the pro tecting strip illustrated for example in Figure 8 should not be less than about A" thick toinsure positive protection for the fingers.

While I have indicated sponge rubber as one preferred material for my protective strip, any other soft, yielding and/or resilient material might likewise be employed, such as spongy rubbery-like masses of synthetic polymers of unsaturated hydrocarbons (e. g., isoprene) and their derivatives. (e. g., neoprene), or the like.

For convenience, I employ the term spongy rubber like material in the claims to embrace materials such as the foregoing, including sponge rubber itself.

On the other hand, a protecting strip which is in effect a plurality of strips such as of fabric filled or packed with a soft, yielding material" (such as cotton, wool,'felt, feathers, horsehair, or the like loosely arranged cushioning material) might be alternatively or additionally employed; The cloth or fabric strips may be held together as by sewing. In such case the assemblywill be somewhat in the nature of an elongated cushion filled with said soft, yielding material, and of cross-section corresponding in shape substan- In addition, it may tially to any of the protecting strips l6 shown in Figures 1 to 8. Figures 9 and 10 illustrate this manner of fabricating the protective strips in triangular and rectangular shapes, respectively. One or more strips of cloth or fabric 30, of suitable texture and color, are formed into an elongated cushion and filled with cushioning material or filler 3| packed as tightly as may be desired. The protecting strip or cushion thus formed is ready for assembly.

The terms yielding and resilient are employed herein somewhat interchangeably to connote varying degrees of yieldingness and resilience, although it will be understood that the former property is essential if the primary objects of my invention are to be achieved. The latter property is highly desirable however since itinsures retention of the original shape of my protecting strip.

The exact form or manner of bevelling or recessing the vehicle door and/or vehicle body which is illustrated need not be adhered to, it being possible to make the bounding surfaces of the recessed portions curved instead of substantially plane, without departing from the spirit of the invention. For convenience, in the claims I shall employ the term recessing (and variants thereof) to indicate generally the concept thus embraced by my invention.

V The fabric cover 20 for the protective strip I6 (Figure 6) may be omitted provided the resilient strip l5 itself is otherwise securely fastened to the cooperating elements of the vehicle. Such secure fastening may be obtained by means such as by cement as heretofore indicated, or by nails or screws or otherwise as desired. However, an adhesive such as a suitable synthetic or natural resin dissolved in a volatile solvent (e. g., rubber cement) will generally be preferred rather than nails, screws, or the like, due to the possibility of injury to the fingers by contact with the latter.

While the invention is primarily intended for use on the hinge side of swinging vehicle doors wherein accidents of the type herein mentioned are most likely to occur, it nevertheless may be applied to any other type of door on any type of vehicle as well as to the entire inner periphery or edge of any door and/or associated doorframe, except of course the portion occupied by the door latch and its associated mechanism. A particularly practical manner of mounting the protective strips according to my invention which may be mentioned merely by way of illustration is to cause them to extend completely across the top of the door and/or door opening and down both sides thereof at least as far as the door latch on the latch side of the door and approximately six to twelve inches farther down on the hinge side of the door.

While by the construction according to the invention a relatively large space or cavity is formed between the car door and its associated door frame, it will be noted that there will be no inconvenience due to drafts since the protective strips inherently possess the added advantage of being excellent weather stripping materialparticularly if so dimensioned that they will be placed under slight compression when the doors on which they are mounted are closed, as shown in various figures of the drawing.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the particular hinge construction (1. e., the exterior hinge l2) herein described might be replaced by any other equivalent construction (e. g., the concealed hinge construction now widely used in the automobile industry) without exceeding the scope of the invention.

It is to be understood that the foregoing description is given by way of illustration and that changes, omissions, additions, substitutions and/or modifications might be made within the scope of the claims without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. In combination with a passenger vehicle having a body element and a cooperative door element, means for preventing injury to the fingers of an occupant of said vehicle comprising a cavity in at least one of said elements and extending along the interior boundary between said body element and said door element and opening into the interior of said vehicle, said cavity at the interior side thereof being at least substantially as wide as a persons finger, and an insert of soft yielding material for and substantially filling said cavity; a portion of said body element and of said door element substantially abutting against each other on the exterior boundary between said body element and said door element.

2. A construction as in claim 1, wherein said said soft yielding material comprises spongy rubher-like material.

3. A construction as in claim 1, wherein said soft yielding material is covered at least in part by fabric-like material,

l. A construction as in claim 1, wherein said insert is so dimensioned as to be held under slight compression while the vehicle door is closed.

5. A construction as claim 1, wherein said soft yielding material comprises fiber-like material.

ELLSWORTH H. MOSI-IER. 

